Friday, February 15, 2019

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH IN CORTLAND AND ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING OF BOY



Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, July 6, 1896.

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH
CELEBRATED IN CORTLAND—GREAT CROWD PRESENT.
Rain Prevented Some of the Sports—Excellent Firemen's Parade—Great Fusiliers—Fine Exhibition of Loyal Bicycles.
   The Fourth of July or a circus will either one of them draw together a crowd regardless of what there is to be seen. The crowd was certainly in Cortland on Saturday and enjoyed all that was going on, though the rain prevented the completion of the sports. The small boy and his older brother made night as hideous as usual during the period of darkness preceding the dawning of the Fourth. Bells were rung, whistles blown, fire crackers of all sizes exploded and bonfires were lighted.
   When the morning came at an early hour all roads leading into town began to fill with teams and with pedestrians and before 10 o'clock one would think it was Barnum's circus day.
   The firemen's parade was started at 10:45 A. M. and made one of the finest displays of its kind ever seen in Cortland. It was probably not excelled by anything here since the days of the state convention in 1888. The procession was in three divisions, the first forming on Court-st., the second on Railroad-st. and the third on Groton-ave. The line of march was as previously announced and the column was made up as follows:
FIRST DIVISION.
   Police force 7 men; board of engineers 12; Dryden cornet band 16 pieces; Neptune hose of Dryden 17 men; Water Witch Steamer and Hose 28 men: C. W. Conger hose of Groton 20 men; Tempest hose of Homer 16 men; Emerald hose 23 men.
SECOND DIVISION.
   Cortland Drum Corps 6 pieces; Tioughnioga hose of Homer, 17 men; Hitchcock hose, 28 men: Protective police, 24 men.
THIRD DIVISION.
   Cortland City band, 16 pieces; Triumph hose of Homer, 16 men; Orris hose, 27 men; Orient Hook and Ladder Co. of Homer, 15 men; Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co., 31 men.

Board of Trustees.
   After the parade which closed on Church-st. the board of village trustees alighted and reviewed the Cortland department. The village fathers expressed themselves as well satisfied in every respect with the appearance of the department. President Benton said it was a department in which any place could well take pride and he was proud of our firemen. Complimentary words for the visitors were also heard on every side.
   The first event of the afternoon was the fusilier parade which was one of the best ever seen in Cortland. The parade was full of amusing and laughable features and pleased everyone. The makeups and paintings were the work of Messrs. B. D. Hakes and J. J. Murphy.
   Just in advance of the fusiliers there was a parade of Loyal bicycles built by the Wesson-Nivison Mfg. Co. This company was headed by Messrs. Wesson and Nivision themselves. Forty-three wheels were in the line. All the riders wore white sweaters and white caps and the word "Loyal" in blue letters appeared on their breasts. Fourteen of the riders drew a light truck wagon which was handsomely decorated and upon which were samples of the products of this company. Mr. Wesson's two small boys, dressed like the others, sat upon the truck. The effect was very pretty indeed and the whole company was highly complimented.
   A number of the business men had floats in the parade advertising their respective lines of business.
   After the fusilier parade the hose races occurred on Church-st. The 200-yard hose race was won by Orris hose in 33 seconds, the time of the Emeralds being 34 1/2 sec. The Orris and Emeralds were the only companies starting in the hub and hub race which was won by the former by 4 feet in 28 seconds.
   The 100-yard hook and ladder races resulted in a victory for the Orients of Homer, their time being 27 seconds and that of the Excelsiors of Cortland being 34 seconds.
   Rain interfered with the further sports and so the bicycle and fat men's races were not started.
   An immense crowd assembled at the corner of Church and Court-sts. in the evening to witness the fireworks which were of a high order and presented a very pleasing sight.
   After the firemen's parade in the morning on Church-st. Excelsior Hook and Ladder company gave a very creditable exhibition of running from Clinton-ave. to Port Watson-st., erecting a ladder and having a man on top of it in remarkably quick time.
   The crowd Saturday was a very orderly one and the police did very efficient service keeping everything orderly.

                                        Glorious Fourth at Venice.
   VENICE, July 6.—In honor of the American warships lying here on the Fourth of July, all of the vessels in the bay of St. Mark were ordered to hoist their gala flags on that occasion. The Italian dispatch vessel Galileo also fired a salute of 21 guns. The United States consul, Henry A. Johnson, gave a banquet to the American colony in honor of the day.

UNUSUAL LAKE DISASTER.
Buffalo Steamer Burned In the Middle of Lake Ontario.
   OSWEGO, N. Y., July 6.—An unusual marine disaster has occurred off Oak Orchard and in the middle of Lake Ontario. Steamer Samuel N. Hodge of Buffalo, bound from Cleveland to Prescott with 600 tons of wire, caught fire about 3 a. m. Before the crew could realize it she was a seething mass of flames.
   Steamer St. Joseph, Captain John Preston of Oswego, sighted the burning steamer and was soon beside her. For over an hour the St, Joseph kept two streams playing on the burning craft, but to no purpose, and to avoid being burned to death, those on board the Hodge jumped into the lake. All were picked up by the St. Joseph's crew.
   The fire originated near the boiler during Fireman Deeley's trick, and he is supposed to have been cremated. Deeley shipped from Buffalo and was 28 years old.
   The Hodge was commanded by Captain Lewis Elliot of Detroit, whose wife was aboard. It was owned by Farrell Bros. of Buffalo and was rated A2. It was valued at $25,000 and insured for $18,000. The cargo was valued at $7,000 and was insured.
   The St. Joseph was badly blistered by the heat from the burning steamer.

Attempted Burglary.
   An attempt was made to burglarize The Elk, the Railroad-st. hotel owned by A. J. Goddard at 2:30 o'clock this morning. Entrance was made through a back door by using a skeleton key. One of the diningroom girls heard the burglars prowling about and gave the alarm, but they made their escape before Officer Hooding, who was summoned, arrived. Nothing has been missed as yet.

A STRAY BULLET
STRUCK NED BUTLER IN THE FACE SATURDAY.
Went Clear Through His Head—No Idea Where it Came From—The Boy Seriously Hurt, Though it is Thought That He Will Recover.
   Shortly after 7 o'clock Saturday morning, Ned Butler, the thirteen-year-old son of Mrs. Ella C. Butler of 60 North Main-st., was struck in the face by a stray bullet fired by some one who was helping in the early morning Fourth of July celebration.
   Ned was up in good season Saturday morning, and together with a number of other children had been firing crackers and shooting off torpedoes in front of the house of Mr. C. E. Van Brocklin on the opposite side of the street. He had started for home and was on the walk leading from the street to the house when the shot struck him. The shock knocked the boy down, but did not render him unconscious. He picked himself up and ran around to the north side of the house with the blood streaming from his face, calling to his mother. Mrs. Butler heard him scream and at once called to the boy to come into the house. Ned did not want his mother to see how badly he was hurt, so [he] started back toward the front of the house calling for Dr. Jewett who lives next door and with whom Ned is a great favorite and to whom he often goes when he is in any trouble.
   Mr. Eugene Powers who was sprinkling his lawn on the opposite side of the street and Mr. B. A. Benedict heard the boy scream and saw him start toward Dr. Jewett's. They were the first to reach him and assisted him back to the front steps before the doctor arrived.
   Upon examination Dr. Jewett found that the ball had struck him on the left side of the nose, had passed clear through the face and had come out at the right ear, tearing the lobe of the ear somewhat as it came out. Just what was the course of the bullet cannot, of course, be exactly told. The doctor is of the opinion that it did not go near enough the base of the brain to produce any effect upon that organ. The sight of the eye does not appear to be affected and he seems to be able to hear as well as usual with the right ear.
   Where the shot came from which struck the boy or who fired it is a mystery. Firing had been going on on all sides during the early morning and it seems to be the opinion that this was a stray shot which may have come from some distance. Ned says that just before he was struck he had stopped on the walk and was facing toward Dr. Jewett's house. This would indicate that the shot must have come from an easterly direction, but just what that direction was cannot be definitely told without knowing Ned's exact position.
   A report was current on the street Saturday that Dr. Jewett and Mr. Benedict were firing at the time and that the shot might have come from a revolver which one or the other of them was using. A STANDARD representative called upon both of these gentlemen and finds the report to be wholly without foundation. Mr. Benedict and the doctor had made an arrangement to fire a salute that morning. The doctor had fired a couple of blank cartridges and was back in the house when the accident occurred. The revolver used by Mr. Benedict is of a larger calibre and uses a larger ball than the one which made the wound in Ned's face. Mr. Benedict says he was through shooting and first he saw of Ned was when he was coming from the north side of the house and was calling for the doctor. The shots that he fired were all fired down into the ground. The one which struck Ned made a clear cut and could not have been made by a ball which had struck a hard surface and glanced off. Dr. Jewett who has had considerable experience in such matters says the ball may have come from a long distance, as he has known similar instances where this has been the case.
   Hopes are growing stronger that Ned will recover from his injuries, as he passed a very comfortable day yesterday and night last night.

Baseball This Week.
   There will be two games of baseball at the fair grounds this week. Wednesday afternoon the Oxford team meets the Cortlands. and Saturday afternoon the Sidney team will be the opponents. Both are good teams and interesting games are looked for.
   The Cortlands were defeated by the Auburns at Auburn Saturday by the score of 28 to 5. Manager Place is negotiating with some first class players and will strengthen the team where weak. He has already signed William McMillan, formerly of the Pennsylvania state league, and more recently of the Auburns, to play either third base or shortstop. With two or three new good players the Cortlands will conduct themselves on the diamond in a way for which no apology will be needed.

LOCAL PERSONAL.
   MR. C. S. MARSH, superintendent of schools at North Tonawanda, N. Y., stopped with friends in town over the Fourth.
   MR. W. J. MANTANYE left this afternoon for Albany to attend a meeting of the state commission of prisons. He will return Thursday.
   Miss CLARA COVIL expects to leave tomorrow for Auburn to attend the New York State Teachers' association. She will return so as to be in her studio Friday afternoon.
   AMONG those who left this morning for Buffalo to attend the National Teachers' association were Miss Maria W. Bishop, Principal E. P. Carr and Mr. L. F. Stillman. Miss Eleanor E. Miller leaves tomorrow morning for the same place.
   Miss SARA A. SAUNDERS, formerly critic in the primary department of the Cortland Normal school and for the past year teacher of methods in the Brockport Normal school, has had her salary raised for the coming year from $900 to $1,000. The local board express themselves as highly gratified at her excellent work in her department.
   MR. A. B. KINGSLEY left today for Auburn to attend the annual convention of the New York State Music Teachers' association. From there he goes to Grand View park, Thousand Islands, where he has accepted a position as pianist for a few weeks. He expects to return to Cortland about August 1 to resume his music class.
   PROF. AND MRS. C. H. VAN TUYL of Hamilton arrived in Cortland Friday evening. They will spend a greater part of the summer vacation with Mrs. Van Tuyl's parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Blodgett, on Port Watson-st. Prof. Van Tuyl started on his wheel this morning to attend the meeting of the National Teachers' association in Buffalo.
   DR. F. J. CHENEY left this morning for Buffalo to attend the annual session of the National Teacher's association. Other Normal teachers who will attend are Prof. W. A. Cornish, Misses Mina W. Bishop, Grace K. Duffy, Harriet A. Hamilton and Emily C. Ormsby. Dr. Cheney also takes in the convention of the State Teachers' association at Rochester on his way.

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